Frame for use in making hooked rugs



March 31, 1959 Filed Jan. 29, 1954 R. B. LAMME FRAME FOR USE IN MAKING .HOOKED RUGS 2 Sheets-Sheet March 31, 1959 R. B. LAMME' 7 FRAME FOR USE IN MAKING Hooxsn RUGS Filed Jan. 29, 1954 2 Shet-Sheet 2 FRAME FOR USE IN MAKING HOOKED RUGS Ruth B. Lamme, West Medford, Mass.

Application January 29, 1954, Serial No. 407,066

3 Claims. (Cl. 45-24) g This invention pertains to the art of hooked rug manufacture and more especially to an improved frame for supporting the rug while being made. In the manufacture of hooked rugs it is customary to employ a rectangular open frame comprising spaced parallel side rails and parallel front and rear rolls whose ends are journaled in the side rails although normally prevented from turning. The frame is supported on a stand at a convenient height for the seated worker, usually sloping upwardly and rearwardly. The foundation fabric, which is commonly burlap, is wound on the front roll and then drawn rearwardly across the frame and its advancing edge is attached to the rear roll, the lateral edges of the burlap being temporarily laced or otherwise attached to the side rails so as to hold it in taut condition. As the work progresses, the completed pattern is gradually rolled up on the rear roll while fresh portions of the burlap are unrolled from the front roll. Obviously, when the completed portion of the pattern has been rolled up on the rear roll, it is no longer visible to the worker who must then go on somewhat blindly, depending on memory, to insure a correspondence between the finished pattern and that which is being worked on. In order to obtain a view of the finished portion of the pattern it is necessary to unfasten it, unroll it, examine it, and then reroll and fasten it, all of which is a troublesome and time consuming operation. Even then, only a small area is conveniently positioned for inspection. Sometimes the only practical way to obtain a good view, is to take the work completely off of the frame in order to spread it out on a flat surface where it may be seen in its entirety.

The present invention has for its principal object the provision of a frame having means, which may be in the nature of an attachment to an existing frame, whereby that portion of the rug which has been completed may readily be held in position for convenient inspection by the worker without requiring that the worker rise from her seat or detach any portion of the' work from the frame. A further object is to provide an attachment for a rug frame so devised as to provide a support for the completed portion of the pattern such that the completed portion is held in a nearly vertical position where it is at all times fully visible to the seated worker.

A further object is to provide a rug. frame having means operative to hold the completed portion of the pattern in upright position and in view of the worker, but so devised that this vertically held portion of the work may readily be dropped down to a position such that it does not obstruct the view of the worker and again restored to a vertical position whenever it is desired to inspect the work. A further object is to provide an attachment for a rug frame for supporting the finished portion of the pattern in upright visible position but wherein the attachment is so devised that it may readily be folded into compact form for shipment or storage. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed 2 description, and by reference to the accompanying drawings whereim- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a'rug, frame embodying the supporting means of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1, showing arug, mounted in the frame;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, to larger scale than Fig. 2, showing a frame embodying the present invention, but with the parts as they would be arranged at an earlier stage in the rug making operation than is indicated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation, to larger scale than Fig. 3 showing the left-hand bracket portion of the attachment in its .fully extended condition; and

Fig. 5 is a front view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 (Figs. 1 and 2) designates a rughooking frame of conventional. type comprising the spaced parallel side bars 11 and12, the front roll 13 which is journaled at 14 in the forwardendsof the two rails. 11 and 12, and the rear roll 15 which is journaled at 16 in openings at the rear ends of the rails 11 and 12. The rails 11 and 12 are split where the rails are journaled therein, and bolts and wing nuts are provided for clamping the rolls so that they cannot turn until the nuts are loosened. As here illustrated, this frame: is pivotally supported by bolts and wing nuts in usual manner upon a stand comprising the vertical legs L' and L each provided with a base B and B respectively, the lower ends of the legs being connected by a cross bar C which, as shown, comprises two aligned members hinged together at their proximate ends and hinged at their remote endsv to the respective legs to facilitate the folding of the stand.

In accordance with the present invention, the frame is provided at each of its opposite sides with rug-supporting means operative to hold the finished portion of the rug in substantially vertical position. The supportingv means at each side comprises an elongate rigid attaching element or bracket 17 (Fig. 4), having spaced openings 18 for the reception of screws by means of which it is secured to the corresponding rail 11 or 12 of the frame rearwardly of the points at which the rails are connected to the legs L, L A member 19 is pivotally secured;

to the rear end of each of the attaching elements or brackets 17, and is normally held in upright position. by a brace member 20 pivotally connected at 21 to the upright member 19 and detachably connected at its opposite end to the forward end of. the bracket member 17 by means of a screw 22 provided with a wing nut 23, the lower edge of the brace 20 having a slot 24 which. receives the screw and which permits the forward or lower end of the brace 20 to "be detached from the bracket member 17 if desired in order to facilitate folding the device. The pivotal connection. at the point 21 may for example be a rivet providing a permanent connection between the parts 19 and 2h. The pivotal connection between the lower end of the upright 19 and the bracket member 17 is here shown as a screw 19 provided with a; wing nut 19 thereby permitting the parts 19 and 17 to be disconnected at this point. However, it is simpler to connect the parts by a ri-vet. Either method makes it possible to fold the apparatus.

The forward edges of the two uprights 19 (at the opposite side of the frame 10) are provided with a seriesv made in two or more parts so that it may be folded when not in use.

Preferably, as here illustrated, each upright 19 is provided with an extension 19 pivotally connected at 30 (for example, by means of a rivet) with the part 19the part 19*"having a slot 31 (Fig. extending rearwardly from its forward edge for the reception of a screw 32 having a wing nut 33 by means of which the part 19 may be held in substantial alignment with the part 19 if desired (as shown in Figs. 4 and 5), but which permits the part 19* to be folded down to an inoperative position as'illustrated in Fig. 3. Spaced holes 26 corresponding to the holes 26 in parts 17, are provided in the extension members 19*. r

The device of the present invention is used substantially as follows: it is assumed that the first part R of the rug has been completed in customary fashion, and by the use of a frame comprising the front and rear rolls or bars 13 and and the side rails 11 and 12. If the device of the present invention has not already been assembled with the frame, the bracket members 17 are now secured to the rails 11 and 12 by screws passed through the holes 18. The finished edge of the rug is now detached from the roll or bar 15, the edges of the finished portion of the rug are detached from the rails 11 and 12, the finished edge of the rug is secured by tacks Z to the cross-bar 29, and a new length of burlap is unrolled from the roll or bar 13 and the finished part of the rug may be allowed to fall down over the rear roll 15 while the edges of the burlap are again laced as shown at E to the side rails 11 and 12. Where the material rests on the roll or bar 15 it is temporarily secured to the cloth covering of the roll, for example, by the use of T-pins W or the like. If it be desired to hold the completed portion of the rug in view, the cross-bar 29 is'now arranged at the desired height with its ends supported on the hooked portions 28 of the pins 27, the latter being inserted in selected holes 26 in the uprights 20. As the rug gradually lengthens, the above operations are repeated, the bar 29 being raised step-by-step. When no more holes 26 are available in the uprights 19, the extensions 19 are raised to the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 5, thus providing additional holes 26 for the reception of the pins 27 so that the finished edge of the rug may be placed at higher and higher elevations until the rug is completed.

It may be desirable, during some of the work, to remove the upright portion R of the rug from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3for example to permit the worker to converse freely with another worker positioned at a frame arranged back-to-back to the frame illustrated. In this event the cross-bar 29 may be lifted from the hooks 28 and supported at a lesser height than shown for example in Fig. 2, so that a portion of the finished rug bags down below the roll 15. Alternatively, with theextension members 19 in the position shown in Fig. 3, the ends of the cross-bar may be supported on the hooked portions 28 of pins 27 which are placed in openin gs 26 in the dependent extensions 19 Thus any desired portion of the finished part of the rug may be placed in convenient position forobservation.

When it is desired to move the frame from place to place, the attachment may readily be folded down to rest on the rails 11 and 12 for ease in transportation.

While the device herein disclosed is described as for use in making hooked rugs, it is obvious that it may have utility in the manufacture of embroidery or tapestry.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been illustrated and described by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling-within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with rug-hooking frame of the kind which includes laterally spaced parallel rails and front and rear rolls journaled in said rails, means for temporarily attaching the unfinished portion of the rug to said front and rear rolls, a device for holding the completed portion of the rug in full view of a worker seated at the front of the frame, said device comprising a rigid stretcher bar to which the end margin of the completed portion of the rug may be secured, and means for supporting the stretcher bar in elevated position directly above the rear rail of the frame proper, said supporting means comprising a bracket secured to each side rail near the rear end of the latter, an upright pivotally secured at its lower end, to each bracket, respectively, a brace connecting each upright to its respective bracket, means normally operative to hold the upright in operative position, each upright having a foldable extension pivotally connected to the upright near the upper end of the latter, each upright and its extension having spaced holes for the reception of pins constituting rests for the end portions of the stretcher bar, and means operative normally to hold each extension in substantial alignment with its respective upright.

2. A device for use in making hooked rugs, comprising, in combination, a supporting stand, a substantially rectangular frame having parallel front and rear rails and rigid, unitary parallel side rails, means attaching the frame to the stand so that the front and rear rails are substantially equal distances from the point of attachment, means for temporarily attaching the unfinished portion of a rug to the front and rear rails respectively and means for temporarily attaching the lateral margins of the unfinished portion of the rug to the side rails whereby said unfinished portion is held taut and in the desired position for the performance of the hooking operation, arigid stretcher bar, of a length at least as great as the width of the frame, means for temporarily attaching that portion of the rug which has been completed to the stretcher bar, and means detachably secured to the respective side rails for supporting the stretcher bar at an elevation above that of the frame and in a vertical plane which is to the rear of the point of attachment of the frame to the stand so that the completed portion of the rug extends upwardly from the rear rail of the frame to the stretcher bar at an angle of approximately so that the patterned side of the completed portion of the rug is in full view of a worker seated at the front of the frame.

3. A device, according to claim 2, wherein the front and rear rails of the frame are so connected to the side rails that they may be rotated about horizontal axes, means for retaining each of said front and rear rails in any desired position of rotational adjustment, and means so connecting the frame to the stand that the frame may be rocked about its horizontal, transverse axis, thereby to dispose the unfinished portion of the rug at a convenient angle to the horizontal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 86,895 Ishler Feb. 9, 1869 414,184 Bentley Nov. 5, 1889 928,418 Ashby July 20, 1909 1,275,929 Hyder Aug. 13, 1918 1,390,857 Allen Sept. 13, 1921 1,975,331 Peirce Oct. 2, 1934 2,241,895 Walker et al. May 13, 1941 

